Adele
by Sanzo Lady
Summary: The story of the Marquise family after the wars. Note: All even numbered chapters are narrated by Adele, all odd numbered chapters, starting with 3 are narrated by Zechs.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1  
  
It was twelve p.m., on a Tuesday. Adele was on the phone with her father as she made herself lunch.  
Every day was like this. Unless Zechs could actually make it home for lunch. The seventeen year old year  
old brushed some college brochures aside as she sat down with her bowl of microwave pasta.  
  
"Adele, have you looked over any of the pamphlets?" Zechs asked his daughter. He had been urging  
Adele to assert herself to her school work since this was her last year in high school. But it seemed the  
more he pushed her, the lazier Adele became.  
  
"No, Daddy, I haven't. I mean, I looked over some of them, but I didn't see any that interested me.  
Look, I'm sorry, Daddy. I know you wanted me to choose a school soon, but," Adele began. She was  
interrupted by her father.  
  
"I know this excuse, Adele. I didn't raise you this way. Please start looking at those colleges. You don't  
know how many of my friends' children have spoiled their futures by not furthering their education."  
Zechs lectured. Adele picked at her food while half listening to Zechs. She already knew this lecture by  
heart. Ever since her grades had started dropping a few years ago, Adele's father had been working her to  
improve her grades.  
  
"Okay, Daddy. I swear, this year will be different. But could you please stop with all the lecturing. I don't  
like the pressure." Adele told her father. A few moments of silence passed and the tension faded. A good  
chance to change the subject.  
  
"So, Daddy, how's your day?" She sweetly asked her father. Adele looked around the messy house while  
talking to Zechs. He hadn't been home a lot lately and Adele wasn't much of a cleaner. Mess just seemed  
to accumulate every where. They had talked about hiring a house cleaner, but lately that idea had to be  
rejected. Two major reasons: Adele going to college soon, they needed money for her tuition, and lately  
the Preventers had been getting pay cuts and there was a large possibility that Zechs could be next.  
  
"It's been going okay. How about yours?" He responded. Adele could hear her father take a bite out of  
whatever he was having for lunch. She could also hear Miss Mariemaia Kushurinada, her father's work  
partner.  
  
"It's been okay, Daddy. Kinda boring since Chin Xue's on vacation, and Nell has to work. What are you  
having for lunch, Daddy?" Adele posed a question while actually picking up a college brochure to read. A  
few more questions and responses were traded, and soon it was nearing one o'clock.  
  
"Well, sweetie, I need to get back to work. Mariemaia needs me to help her go over some mission data."  
Zechs told Adele.  
  
"Not another mission! Are you going to go away again Daddy?" She asked, suddenly concerned.  
  
"If I can work this out, I won't have to leave you," Zechs said in a reassuring tone, "Now, Mariemaia is  
urging me to get off the phone. Bye, Adele."  
  
"Bye, Daddy."  
  
Both hung up their phones. And went back to their work. Adele continued to sort through the college  
pamphlets. Zechs went to help Mariemaia with their mission planning. 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2  
  
Mariemaia needed him. Daddy always addressed her by her name. He never called her his partner.  
That title was always reserved for Mama. Both in work and at home. She was his life partner and partner  
in work.  
  
That's also why I didn't want Papa going on his mission. For some reason the Preventers view Daddy  
as their strongest warrior, quickest mind, and I guess, best guy to put on the front line. Before Mama and  
Daddy were the Preventers' smartest team, strongest team, best team. Not any more.  
  
When I was six years old, my Mama and Daddy had to go on a mission that dealt with terrorists. Miss Lady Une assured their safety. It's needless to say that I now hold a personal grudge against that woman for what happened. Despite Miss Une's guarantee my parents' well being, I knew something bad would happen. I was left with Mister Wu Fei Chang and his family - Jiang Hu, his wife, and Chin Xue, his son. As soon as my Daddy and Mama left me with the Changs, I became hysterical. It's not that I didn't like Wu Fei's family. In fact they were second family to me. Chin Xue tried his best to distract me, but the bad feeling I had didn't go away. I cried for the whole week I stayed there. When Daddy came home, Mama did not. My worst fears had come true. My mother had been shot. Actually both my parents had been shot, but Daddy was only shot in the arm. The damn terrorists got a lucky shot on Mama and nailed her in right between the eyes. I was mortified. Daddy was mortified. Wu Fei, Jiang Hu, and Chin Xue were mortified. Lady Une said that my mother was brave in the line of duty, and gave my father paid vacation until he felt he could go back to work. Oh, that eased the pain. Trust me, Lady Une, you really know what a family needs in a time of grief and sorrow. Paid vacation.   
  
It was nearly six months before Daddy went back to work, and another month after that until I went back to school. Chin Xue was there for me. He didn't quite understand that I lost my mother for good. His dad works for the Preventers too, and Wu Fei has been shot before but only in the leg or arm. However, now that I think about it, what Chin Xue did was very cute. He offered to share his mother with me. I declined his sweet offer, but in a way that's what we ended up doing. The Changs only lived three houses down from me and Daddy, so I often paid "Miss Jiang", as I called her, a visit. She was always there for me when I had girly problems. That was some thing my Daddy was glad to stay out of.  
  
There was another "mother figure" in my life. Miss Sally Po. She was really nice. Miss Sally was Mama's best friend. Now that I remember it, Miss Sally was always there for me too. Even if she lived across our housing development, Sally was there for me just as much as Miss Jiang. I was the flower girl in Sally's wedding. The wedding that almost didn't happen. The wedding had been planned a year ahead of time. Mama was supposed to be the maid of honor. Daddy and I were finally getting our lives back together when the wedding came up. At first I was really excited about being a flower girl, but then when the time for the wedding came, I didn't want to anymore. Miss Sally was ready to cancel the wedding, which would have been okay, she got divorced from that guy a year later, but anyway... Daddy made both she and I be in the wedding. It turned out okay, well for me.   
  
Miss Jiang and Miss Sally are really special ladies. But they will never be Mama. No one shall ever replace my mother, Lucretia Marquise. 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  
  
On June 14, AC 199, I made one the biggest decisions of my life. After two wars, one death, and the terra formation of a baron planet, I finally swallowed my pride and married the love of my life, Lucretia Noin. I though my "wild" life was over. I thought that the day that I traded my mask and my Tallgeese for a ring on my finger would mean that I'd be totally changed. I was wrong. Rather, my life has gotten more exciting. Before Lucretia and I were just a team. Now we more.   
  
In July we moved out of my small apartment into a larger house. Preventer housing is provided by the government. Single officers are provided with small one bedroom apartments (mine had two bedrooms because Lu and I always lived together). Preventers with families were given moderate sized housing depending on their needs. Any way, around late July, early August, Lucretia and I attended our first social gathering since our marriage. To my surprise (along with all the other former Gundam pilots) Wu Fei got married. The ceremony was beautiful, as was the bride. A Chinese beauty by the name of Jiang Hu Chow. Lu stole the attention be making an announcement that even I did not know about. She informed our closest friends that she was two months pregnant. Oh, how I was beaming. I can remember Relena asking how much I had to drink at the wedding. I can also remember complaining to Lucretia about how much my face hurt when we went home.  
  
I waited in anticipation for my first child to be born. During the course of Lu and my first year together we got new neighbors (Wu Fei and Jiang Hu moved in three houses down from us), was let out of the loop, (Relena and most of the other Gundam pilots stopped communicating with us), and formed our own group (Wu Fei, Jiang Hu, and Sally Po regularly came over for a social night). Wu Fei and Jiang also had good news. Jiang, too was pregnant. Perhaps Sally felt left out, maybe she felt that she'd never meet the right man, but what ever the reason Sally announced that she was adopting a child. Sally adopted a little girl name Nell. Sally always raised Nell as if she had given birth to Nell herself. I expected nothing less of Sally.  
  
March 6th came and I must admit, I wasn't ready. Lucretia was going into labor and I was in a panic. I never thought it could be so scary. I drove her to Preventer Hospital (again provided for us by our wonderful world government) and waited through a horrific (well, horrific for me) fifteen hour labor. At one in the morning on March 7th my daughter Adele was born. I can still remember the first time I held little Adele my arms. She was so small. Such a miracle. I never felt so proud of my accomplishments in my life.  
  
A week later Lu and I brought Adele home. Sally had already been there, getting the nursery ready. Jiang Hu had made us dinner. And Wu Fei did some thing no one expected him to do (he was just full of surprises back then). Wu Fei managed to get a few of the Gundam pilots and the "Gundam girls" together to celebrate Adele's coming home. By a few, I really do mean a few. Relena, Hilde and Duo came over. At the time I didn't really mind.   
  
Four months later Jiang Hu and Wu Fei were in Lucretia and my shoes. And we did the same for them as they did for us. Lucretia made dinner for them. Sally got the baby's room ready. And I tried my best to contact a few Gundam pilots. I did worse that Wu Fei. I got Quatre, and Duo. The Changs came home with the newest addition to their family, a son named Chin Xue.  
  
Those days in the past were great. The Changs would come over for barbeques and lawn darts. Okay, not really. Wu Fei and Jiang Hu would bring over Chin Xue and he and Adele would play. We all thought it was adorable, well, not Wu Fei. The two babies seem to become fast friends.  
Yes, those were the days. 


End file.
